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Media Council of Tanzania and Others v Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania (Application 5 of 2019)

East African Court of Justice · [2020] EACJ 40 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out notice of appeal for failure to institute appeal within prescribed time
Decision
Notice of Appeal struck out and deemed withdrawn

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court struck out the Respondent's Notice of Appeal for failure to institute the appeal within 30 days as required by Rule 86(1) of the EACJ Rules of Procedure 2013. Under Rule 82(a), a party who fails to institute an appeal within the prescribed time is deemed to have withdrawn the notice of appeal. The Respondent's explanations regarding office restructuring did not excuse the procedural lapse; the proper remedy was an application for extension of time under Rule 4, which was not filed.

Outcome

Notice of Appeal struck out and deemed withdrawn

Facts

The Applicants successfully challenged provisions of Tanzania's Media Services Act 2016 before the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice in Reference No. 02 of 2017, with judgment entered on 28th March 2019. The Respondent filed a Notice of Appeal on 11th April 2019 but failed to institute the appeal within 30 days as required by Rule 86(1) of the EACJ Rules. The Applicants filed this application on 6th December 2019 to strike out the Notice of Appeal. The Respondent attributed the delay to restructuring of the Attorney General's Office and the establishment of the Office of the Solicitor General, which resulted in file transfers and a lost file, but did not file an application for extension of time.

Issues

  1. Whether the Notice of Appeal filed on 11th April 2019 by the Respondent should be struck out for contravening the East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013.
  2. What reliefs, if any, are the Applicants entitled to.

Orders

  • The Notice of Appeal dated and lodged on 11th April 2019 is struck out.
  • Costs awarded to the Applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Notice of Appeal — Failure to Institute Appeal Within Prescribed Time
Where a party lodges a notice of appeal but fails to institute the appeal within 30 days as required by Rule 86(1) of the East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013, the notice of appeal is deemed to have been withdrawn under Rule 82(a) and the party is liable for costs.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Extension of Time — Proper Procedure
A party who has failed to institute an appeal within the prescribed time cannot raise reasons for the delay in an application to strike out the notice of appeal; the proper remedy is to file an application for extension of time under Rule 4 of the EACJ Rules of Procedure.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Essential Steps — Striking Out
Under Rule 81 of the EACJ Rules of Procedure 2013, a person on whom a notice of appeal has been served may apply to strike out the notice on the ground that some essential step in the proceedings has not been taken or has not been taken within the prescribed time.

Full judgment

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Media Council of Tanzania and Others v Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania (Application 5 of 2019) [2020] EACJ 40 (9 June 2020)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.